Gerald Moore

Gerald Moore was a scholar of African literature who occasionally wrote poetry. Born in London in 1924, Moore attended Dauntsey’s boarding school in Wiltshire before joining the Royal Navy at the age of 17 and serving in the Atlantic and Arctic convoys during World War II. He received a degree in English from Emmanuel College, Cambridge and taught at several universities around the world throughout his career, including universities in England, Italy, Hong Kong, Nigeria, Ghana, Uganda, and the United States. He published several books about African literature throughout his lifetime, including the first book-length critical study of Wole Soyinka. He also translated several works of Francophone African literature into English and edited The Penguin Book of Modern African Poetry. Moore frequently contributed articles to African literary journals such as Black Orpheus and Transition, the latter of which also published one of his poems.